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US-Backed Syrian Opposition Group Arrests 14 Drug Smugglers

A photo published by Maghaweir al-Thowra for a group of detainees who were arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling after crossing the Jordan border, Asharq Al-Awsat
A photo published by Maghaweir al-Thowra for a group of detainees who were arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling after crossing the Jordan border, Asharq Al-Awsat
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US-Backed Syrian Opposition Group Arrests 14 Drug Smugglers

A photo published by Maghaweir al-Thowra for a group of detainees who were arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling after crossing the Jordan border, Asharq Al-Awsat
A photo published by Maghaweir al-Thowra for a group of detainees who were arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling after crossing the Jordan border, Asharq Al-Awsat

Maghaweir al-Thowra (NSA), a Syrian opposition group which controls territory near the Syrian-Jordanian border and is backed by the US-led international coalition, announced arresting a 14-member ring that smuggled drugs between Syria and Jordan.

The group released a picture of those detained alongside its official statement.

It was not possible to verify whether the detainees have been charged.

“Investigations are being conducted with the people who were arrested,” said the NSA statement after revealing that the ring was ambushed on its way back from Jordan to Syrian territories.

The ring was arrested after trying to slip into Syrian regime-controlled areas through the NSA-run 55th zone.

Last Thursday, the NSA also published pictures of a resident of As-Suwayda Governorate handcuffed in front of the Al-Tanf court in the Syrian Badia.

“Investigations are ongoing with Jawdat Hamza, who was arrested in a qualitative operation, in coordination with the Anti-Terrorism Force in As-Suwayda, within the framework of joint coordination to combat ISIS and drug smuggling gangs and those involved in southern Syria,” said another NSA statement.

“Jawdat Hamza is an agent of Hezbollah in As-Suwayda, and he was handed over to the US-operated Al-Tanf base, after he was arrested by the anti-terrorism force in As-Suwayda, and he will be investigated by the NSA,” added the statement.

Local news networks in As-Suwayda said that Hamza disappeared under mysterious circumstances in the city of As-Suwayda two weeks ago, while working as a taxi driver.

The anti-terrorism force in As-Suwayda announced that he had been detained and handed over to the US base in Al-Tanf region, on charges of working for Hezbollah and securing drug smuggling operations.

Moreover, Hamza was accused of criminal cases, including kidnappings.

Hamza’s family protested handing him over to the base and demanded turning him into the hands of a competent Syrian judiciary.

No statement was issued by US forces or the international coalition concerning Hamza.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.